Smartphone bluetooth headset receiver

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are provided for allowing a user with a Smartphone to pair the Smartphone with another Bluetooth device to receive audio that is played to the user over headphones or through speakers on the Smartphone. Further, an audio processing module is used to modify the audio presented to the user, extract closed captioning text to be displayed to the user, find information relevant to the audio to be displayed to the user, and pause audio content sent to the Smartphone when phone calls or other Smartphone interruptions occur.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure generally relates to receiving and presentingaudio over a Bluetooth connection to a user, and more particularly toreceiving audio at a Smartphone that is connected by Bluetooth™ to adevice transmitting audio and receiving the video on a different displaydevice using a different connection, other than Bluetooth.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a set top box receives audiovisual programmingcontent, for example multiple channels of content coming from asatellite or cable provider. The set top box decodes those multiplechannels of content and enables a user to select a particular channel tobe displayed on a display device, for example a television set. Set topboxes that contain Bluetooth transceivers also enable a user to listento audio portion of the displayed audiovisual content by pairing aBluetooth listening device with the Bluetooth transceiver in the set topbox. Examples of user listening devices include Bluetooth earpieces andBluetooth headsets. Disclosed herein are systems and methods to enable auser to receive audio content by pairing a Bluetooth-enabled Smartphonedevice with a Bluetooth-enabled set-top box, or other device, so thatthe user can listen to audio using headphones connected to theSmartphone.

In addition, an audio processing module on the Smartphone is able toprovide additional functionality as audio content is sent to thelistener, including but not limited to pausing the presented content ifthe user receives a phone call, to adjusting the sound for optimal userlistening, or, to analyzing the audio content and to display informationrelated to the audio content on the Smartphone display.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a context diagram for providing audiovisual content to areceiving device as is known in the art.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of one non-limiting embodiment of a system forlinking a Smartphone to a receiving device.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of one non-limiting embodiment of a process todetect and display closed captioned information on a Smartphone display.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of one non-limiting embodiment of a process tosynchronize audio on the Smartphone to the presented content on thedisplay.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a diagram 1002 of a context diagram for delivering audiovisualcontent to a receiving device as is conventionally done in the priorart. Content, including audiovisual content, is created by contentprovider 10. This content provider may include but is not limited tofilm studios, television studios, and independent content producers suchas AMC, HBO, or Showtime. A content provider may also includeindividuals that capture personal or home videos and who want todistribute these videos to others over YouTube™ or some otherdistribution mechanism. A content provider may also focus on audiocontent, such as audiobooks or music. Information providers 12 createand distribute information that describes or supports audiovisualcontent and may include data such as programming data, timeslot data,pay-per-view and related data, or other information that supportscontent as it is distributed to the user. Communication system 14 is anetwork, which may be made up of any network capable of transmittingdata, such as the Internet, X.25 networks, or a series of smaller orprivate connected networks that carry the content and information toprogram distributor 16. The program distributor 16, in some embodiments,will distribute the programs and data to the customer directly throughcommunication system 14. In other embodiments, the programs and datawill be sent through uplink 18 which goes to satellite 20 and back tothe downlink station 22 which may also include a head end (not shown).At this point, the content and data is sent to an individual receivingdevice 24. In one embodiment, customers throughout neighborhood maysubscribe to this content and receive it through receiving devices 24 ineach of their respective homes. Examples of a receiving device 24 are aset-top box, a cable connection box, a computer or the like. Customersmay have one or more receiving devices 24 that are attached to one ormore display devices 26 within a business or end user customer premises28.

FIG. 2 is a diagram 1004 of a non-limiting embodiment of a customer'spremises 28 according to the disclosure herein. The receiving device 24receives content from communication system 14, in particular audiovisualcontent to be presented on display unit 26. Receiving device 24, whichmay take the form of a set top box, has a Bluetooth component 63 thatallows the set-top box to pair with other Bluetooth devices so that thetwo devices can communicate over the Bluetooth protocol. The Bluetoothmodule 63 may be a single chip within receiving device 24, or may be aBluetooth transceiver external to the receiving device 24. Displaydevice 26, in the current embodiment, includes display area 44 on whichvisual content, for example a movie played from a satellite channel, isdisplayed. Display device 26 may also include a second display area,picture in picture area 48, where a different channel of visual contentis displayed. In some embodiments, this second picture may appear as atiled display next to display area 44, rather than a smaller displayarea 48 overlapping larger display area 44. In other embodiments,display area 48 may appear on a second display device (not shown)connected to the receiving device 24.

In one or more embodiments, a Bluetooth module 50 within display device26 may be paired with other Bluetooth-enabled devices. Therefore, in oneor more embodiments the audio that corresponds to audiovisual contentpresented on display area 44 or display area 48 may be transmittedeither by the Bluetooth transmitter 63 in receiving device 24, or theBluetooth transmitter 50 in display device 26. In some embodiments,separate Bluetooth connections may be established to transmit theseparate audio associated with content presented in display area 44 anddisplay area 48 to separate Bluetooth devices.

To listen to the audio of the content presented by receiving device 24,Smartphone 52 would be connected via Bluetooth module 62 to Bluetoothmodules 50 or 63, so that the audio from either device would be sentdirectly to the Smartphone 52. Examples of Smartphones are the iPhone™and Galaxy™ Smartphones, that includes the ability to run applications,support Bluetooth and have full mobile and cell phone capability.

There are many advantages to sending audio to a Smartphone 52. WirelessBluetooth headphones are expensive. Not everyone has them, and thosepeople that do, often find that those headphones do not hold a chargefor long, and must be frequently recharged. In some instances, thebattery life of Bluetooth headphones are less than the length of afeature movie. In contrast, Smartphones 52 typically have a long batterylife, are typically sold with earbuds 56, are typically kept alongsidetheir users, and typically have Bluetooth capability 62. Also, userstypically carry earbuds 56 or other listening devices 58 to hear audioplay on the smart phone 52 without disturbing people around the user.This way, most Smartphone users have the hardware to connect to andreceive audio from Bluetooth devices without having to buy a specialBluetooth headset.

Once Smartphone 52 is paired with the Bluetooth device to send the audioportion of the presented audiovisual content, users 54, 59 may listen toaudio on Smartphone 52 in at least two different ways. In oneembodiment, user 54 is connected to Smartphone 52 via earbuds 56 thatare plugged directly into the Smartphone 52 audio jack. In a secondembodiment, user 59 has paired Bluetooth earpiece 58 with Smartphone 52to listen to audio, for example to participate in a phone conversationwhile driving. In this embodiment, user 59 may always keep Bluetoothearpiece 58 paired with Smartphone 52 to listen to audio, and pairSmartphone 52 with Bluetooth in other devices 50, 63 only whenSmartphone 52 is to receive audio from those devices. In other words, ifa user always wore their Bluetooth earpiece for their Smartphone 52, andthe user wanted to watch television with Bluetooth-enabled receivingdevice 24, the user would not re-pair their Bluetooth earpiece 58 withBluetooth component 63 in receiving device 24, but instead wouldBluetooth pair Smartphone 52 Bluetooth component 62 to receiving device24. This way, the user's Bluetooth earpiece device 58 does not have tobe re-paired. In other embodiments, a user's Smartphone 52 would bepaired in one of the manners above, but the user would listen to audioover the Smartphone 52 speakers.

The description above has focused on a series of embodiments related topresentation of audiovisual content. However, Smart phone 52 may be usedto play audio when paired to other devices, such as a car radio,satellite radio, or the like.

In addition to receiving audio, the Bluetooth component 62 within Smartphone 52, may also be used as a way to wake up nearby devices 26, 24 and68 when the user 54, 59 walk within range of the devices. For example,the devices may be configured to go into a standby mode automatically ifSmartphone 52 is not within a threshold proximity of the paired devicefor certain period of time. For example, suppose user 54 was listeningto the audio of a program displayed on device 26 in the user's livingroom. If the user 54 gets up and leaves during the program for a 20minute period, then display device 26 may go into standby mode untiluser 54 returns to the living room with Smartphone 52, at which time thedisplay device 26 will recognize that the Bluetooth module 62 ofSmartphone 52 is within proximity and will restart.

The Smartphone 52 itself contains significant computing power that isable to do more than just present audio data received from a Bluetoothconnection 50 to a user 54, 59. The Smartphone 52 may contain programmodules that are able to gather, analyze, transform and presentinformation. One example is an audio processing module 60 that monitorsaudio and other data signals received from devices 26, 24 and 68, andprovides added capability to users 54, 59 using the Smartphone 52 as alistening device.

In one embodiment, if user 54 is listening to a television programpresented on display area 44 and a telephone call from phone service 72comes into Smartphone 52, the audio processing module 60 may, forexample, pause the audio sent to Smartphone 52 so that the user 54 cantake the phone call. Once the phone call is complete, the audio willresume playing. In a related example, audio processing module 60 maysend commands back to their paired display device 26, 24 and 68 to pausethe entire audiovisual content presentation until the user's phone callis over. This gives the user 54, 59 the option of listening toaudiovisual content as it is presented while maintaining the flexibilityof receiving a phone call. It should be noted that in relatedembodiments, other functions or communications to the user may pause thepresentation of audio content onto Smartphone 52, for example textmessages, alert notifications, email messages, and the like. Similarly,in other related embodiments, other commands may be sent to thepresentation devices 24, 26 and 68 when the audio processing module 60detects an activity that would conflict with the audio played onSmartphone 52. Examples of these commands include begin to record thecontent, rewind the presented content, move the video presentation fromthe display device 26 to the Smartphone display 64, or raise or lowerthe volume of the content, while the interrupting event is occurring.For example, if a user 54, 59 was listening to audio on smartphone 52while watching display device 26 and a Skype™ call came in, the audioprocessing module 60 would immediately send a command to receivingdevice 24 to begin to record the video and audio being played, and theuser would be available to take the Skype call. When audio processingmodule 60 determines the Skype call was over, it would send a command toreceiving device 24 to begin to play the recorded content so that theuser can continue to watch the movie at the point the Skype call camein.

In other embodiments, the audio processing module 60 may monitor thereceived audio or data content and provide additional information touser 54, 59 depending upon the content received. For example, if theaudio processing module 60 determines that an advertisement is beingplayed, audio processing module 60 may alert the user with anotification of “you are listening to a commercial, would you also liketo hear a related commercial?” Module 60 may also ask if the user wouldlike to play a related YouTube video, watch some other related content,search for price comparisons of the advertised product or perform othersearch-related functions in the Internet 66 such as lookup in IMDB™,provide an coupon for the product a commercial is promoting, and thelike.

In another embodiment, if audio processing module 60 determines that theuser 54, 59 is watching a movie, the audio processing module may searchfor and provide background information on the movie being watched suchas the genre, director, actors, filming locations, and the like.

In these two embodiments, the results of the additional informationdetermined by audio processing module 60 may be displayed on Smartphone52 display 64. In this way, Smartphone 52 becomes a private secondscreen application that operates in conjunction with the display device26. In conjunction with audio processing module 60, the second screenknows what the user 54, 59 is watching and provides the user withadditional information.

In another embodiment, the audio processing module 60 recognizesincoming audio and modifies the audio for a better experience for user54, 59. For example, the audio processing module 60 may perform anaudio-leveling function, such as adjusting the volume so that it isalways within a certain decibel range, so that the audio as listened toby user 54, 59 is never too soft nor too loud.

In another example, audio processing module 60 may use the computingresources of Smartphone 52 to provide a translation of the incomingaudio into another language, which is then presented to the user 54, 59.In one embodiment, this may be done by analyzing the incoming audiosignal, decoding it to determine the words spoken to actors, translatingthe words or phrases into the final language, and sending the audio tothe user. Translating the audio signal into a series of words or phrasesmay be done on Smartphone 52. The identification of different actors andthe words or phrases spoken may be determined in a number of differentways. For example, the differing tone, pitch, and/or tenor of the voicesmay be used to identify which words are spoken by which actor. Thetranslations are then made and the translated audio played to user 54,59 such that the translated audio and video are substantially in sync.In a related example, closed captioned information may be read andconverted into translated audio which is then presented to user 54, 59.

In another example, audio processing module 60 may use the significantcomputing and data processing resources of Smartphone 52 by performingan audio equalization function to better enable the user 54, 59 to hearsounds or understand words spoken in the audio. For example, people canhear some frequencies better than other frequencies, such as olderpeople that have more difficulty hearing higher frequencies and may needthe volume of these frequencies increased. Without equalization, theonly way to make these higher frequencies louder is to turn up thevolume of the entire audio spectrum, which could cause lower frequenciesto become too loud for the user. Equalization breaks up the auditoryspectrum into different frequency bands that correspond to, for example,high-range sounds including high-pitched sounds or wind sounds,mid-range sounds such as conversation-level voices, or low-pitchedsounds such as base notes. Each of these ranges can then be adjusted forvolume, and then recombined back into a single audio signal. Thisprocess allows a user 54, 59 to customize the spectrum profile of theaudio they listen to that will give them the most enjoyment. This may beparticularly helpful in a group of people that includes one person withhearing problems who needs sound equalization while listening to a movieusing Smartphone 52 using Bluetooth earpiece 58, while others in thegroup watch the same movie with no audio equalization.

In addition, the audio processing module 60 may also receive closedcaptioning information, and present the decoded closed captioning texton the Smartphone display 64 for the user to read as a movie is playing.This closed captioned data may be embedded either in the audio stream,or in a data stream and sent to Smartphone 52 and decoded and presentedby audio processing module 60.

The audio processing module 60 may also be used to adjust any delaybetween the audio and the video as it is presented on display device 26.For example, if an actor's words are heard in a scene before the actorbegins to speak. In this example, the audio processing module woulddelay presentation of the audio to the user 54, 59 so that the audio andvideo would appear in sync.

FIG. 3 shows flow diagram 1006 of one non-limiting embodiment of aprocess to detect and display closed caption information on a Smartphonedisplay. The process starts at step 72. At step 74, the Smartphone ispaired with the display device using the Bluetooth protocol. At step 76,once the two devices are paired audio data is received by theSmartphone, and the audio processing module 60 will perform digitalsignal processing on the audio signal at step 77. At step 78, the audiois played to the user. The audio is played to the user either through awired or wireless connection between the Smartphone device and theuser's headphones or earbuds 56, or the audio is played through thespeakers of the Smartphone. At step 80, the process determines whetherthe audio data contains closed caption information. If it does, then atstep 82 the closed captioned information is decoded, and at step 84 theclosed caption text is displayed on the smartphone in synchronizationwith the presentation of the related video content. If at step 80 theaudio data does not contain closed captioned information, then at step86 audio processing module 60 will attempt to use speech recognition todetermine words contained in dialogue, and at step 88 display thosewords on the Smartphone display as they are spoken. This continues untilthe viewed program is complete, at which point the process ends at step90.

FIG. 4 shows flow diagram 1008 of one non-limiting embodiment of aprocess to synchronize audio and video information. The process startsat step 94. At step 96, the Smartphone is paired Bluetooth with thedisplay device. Once the two devices are paired, audio data is receivedby the Smartphone in step 98. At step 99, the audio processing module 50will perform digital signal processing on the audio signal. At step 100of the audio is played to the user by the audio processing module 60. Atstep 102, the process determines whether the audio being played to theuser is synchronized with the display video. If it is not synchronized,then the Smartphone user will input the timing adjustment, and the flowwill continue to step 102. If the audio is synchronized with thedisplayed video, then the process ends at step 106.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to providefurther embodiments. All of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent applicationpublications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patentapplications and non-patent publications referred to in thisspecification and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet areincorporated herein by reference, in their entirety. Aspects of theembodiments can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of thevarious patents, applications and publications to provide yet furtherembodiments.

These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of theabove-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, theterms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specificembodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should beconstrued to include all possible embodiments along with the full scopeof equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, theclaims are not limited by the disclosure.

1. A method comprising: pairing a Bluetooth-enabled Smartphone with aBluetooth-enabled set top box using a Bluetooth connection; receiving,by the set top box, audiovisual content; sending, by the set top box,the visual portion of the audiovisual content to a display device to beviewed by a user via a hardwire connection; sending, by the set top box,the audio portion of the audiovisual content to the Smartphone using thepaired Bluetooth connection; receiving, by the Smartphone, the sentaudio portion of the audiovisual content using the paired Bluetoothconnection; and outputting, by the Smartphone, the received audioportion of the audiovisual content to the user.
 2. A method comprising:receiving audio content from a receiving device over a wirelessBluetooth connection; processing the audio content; outputting the audiocontent to a user.
 3. The method according to claim 2 wherein thereceiving device is one of: a set top box that includes a Bluetoothtransmitter, an audiovisual display device that includes a Bluetoothtransmitter, or a car radio that includes a Bluetooth transmitter. 4.The method according to claim 2 wherein the element of processing theaudio content further comprises: analyzing the audio content todetermine if closed captioning data is included in the audio content;and if closed captioning data is included in the audio content, decodingthe closed captioned data into text strings; and outputting the textstrings to the user.
 5. The method according to claim 2 wherein theelement of receiving audio content further comprises receiving the audiocontent on a Smartphone device.
 6. The method according to claim 5wherein the element of processing the audio content further comprises:receiving a phone call on the Smartphone device; upon receiving thephone call, sending a command to the receiving device to pause sendingthe received audio content; when the phone call is completed, sending acommand to the receiving device to resume playing the received audiocontent.
 7. A system comprising: a Bluetooth-enabled Smartphone,containing a display and configured to output sound to a user; aBluetooth-enabled set top box, paired to the Bluetooth-enabledSmartphone using a Bluetooth connection, and configured to receiveaudiovisual content; a module on the Bluetooth-enabled set top box,configured to: receive the audio portion of the audiovisual content, andsend the audio portion to the paired Bluetooth-enabled Smartphone; amodule on the Bluetooth-enabled Smartphone, configured to: receive theaudio portion of the audio visual content, process the audio portion ofthe audio visual content to create enhanced audio, and output theenhanced audio to the user.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein theelement of process the audio portion of the audio visual content furthercomprises: perform audio-to-text conversion on the received audioportion to produce text; output the text to the Smartphone display; andcreate the enhanced audio using the received audio portion.
 9. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein the element of process the audio portion ofthe audio visual content further comprises: adjust the volume of thereceived audio portion so that the volume falls within a predetermineddecibel range; and create the enhanced audio using the adjusted receivedaudio portion.
 10. The system of claim 7, wherein the element of processthe audio portion of the audio visual content further comprises: analyzethe received audio portion for closed captioned information; output theclosed captioned information to the Smartphone display; and create theenhanced audio using the received audio portion.
 11. The system of claim7, wherein the element of process the audio portion of the audio visualcontent further comprises: split the received audio portion intopredetermined frequency ranges; apply adjustments to the volume of eachof the split frequency ranges; and combine each of the adjustedfrequency ranges to create the enhanced audio.
 12. The system of claim7, wherein the element of process the audio portion of the audio visualcontent further comprises: analyze the received audio portion; translatethe language in the received audio portion into a different language;and create the enhanced audio using the translated audio portion.